"Q.E.D." Part 12
".... For God's sake, man! Quit sniveling! I will deal with youlater." Stefan slammed the telephone receiver down, violentlypunctuating the end of his sentence.
Bobbie jumped at the noise. She had been standing at the bottom ofthe staircase, fixed in place by the sound of Stefan's wrath pouringinto the hallway from the living room. She had never heard him losehis temper like this, and it frightened her to realize how little shereally knew about her husband.
Brock used to lose his temper like that. And then he would beat her.And then he would apologize in a way that made it seem like it wassomehow her fault. And then she would forgive him. And the wheelwould spin on its axis, returning to the place where they began,again and again.
Her legs suddenly felt weak, and she sat down on the bottom step,clutching the bannister. She took a deep breath and told herself:Luke loses his temper like that, too. And he is a good man.
She did not want to fear her husband. But she could feel that emotionbeckoning at her from a place well hidden. She frowned. Her brotherhad planted that seed of trepidation before she had ever met Stefan,and it was fated to color her perception of his every action.
At first, she relished the idea of sharing her life with thisintimate stranger. She was tired of having to explore every inch ofher psyche with Tony. In their marriage, every action had to bedissected into elements of motivation and meaning, and it becametedious having to explain every mistake she had ever made, reducingpassion into a sterile equation of cause and effect.
She admitted, she did not know Stefan well enough to love him. Butshe was drawn to him by an emotion of almost equal power...fascination. When he came to her in the Dominican Republic, willingto reveal everything and nothing at the same time, her heart racedlike a hunted animal, and they made love with a passion felt only bythose who are doomed. The sensation took hold of her like a potentdrug, and she was unwilling to let go of it; but at the same time,she hoped it would not consume her.
She could hear him walking toward her, his footfalls accelerated byrage, the heels of his shoes striking the marble floor of the hallwayin a rapid staccato. She stood as her fear attacked her, pooling inher stomach and tightening every muscle in preparation for retreat.But when she looked at his face, she was surprised to see her fearreflected in his eyes.
"What is it, Stefan?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
"I have received... distressing news. Nikolas is missing."
"What? Did he run away again?"
"I believe so."
"But it's still early in the evening. Maybe he just needed to cooloff. Perhaps he met a friend for dinner." She smiled, placing herhand on his arm. "You know how secretive teenagers can be..."
"I admire your optimism Barbara, but I do not share it," he replied."I have made an error in judgment, and I have driven him away."
She already knew the answer, but she felt that she had to ask: "Wouldyou like to talk about it? Perhaps I can help..."
He drew her in closer for a hug, and she felt his chest collapse in asigh. "I am so tired of talk," he said. "Sometimes, I think that theworld would be better off if I never opened my mouth again."
She pulled away and put the palm of her hand against his cheek. "WellI, for one, would be very sad if I never heard your voice again. AndI'm sure that Nikolas feels the same way."
He gently took her hand away from his face and held it. "Please don'ttake this the wrong way, Barbara, but you have no idea what Nikolasis feeling." He released her hand, and took a small step away fromher. "And, right now, neither do I."
"Can I help you look for him?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "I want you to stay here. I want you to promise methat you won't leave until I get back."
"Stefan," she said, "Why can't you tell me what's going on? Are youor Nikolas in any danger?"
"You know that I carry secrets, Barbara. They are an integral part ofthe Cassadine legacy. And right now, I believe that there is moreharm in knowing them." He reached his hand behind her neck and drewher in for a kiss. He felt her shudder in his arms, as she respondedto him with a mixture of pleasure and fear. He stroked her hair, andspoke softly into her ear. "Ours is an ancient marriage, from a timewhen couples were joined for the mutual benefit of two families. Itis not a love match, and we both knew this before we shared our vows.Despite that fact, I do care about you. And I don't want to see youget hurt." He pulled away from her, and walked to the closet tocollect his coat.
"Please be careful," she pleaded. "Let me know if you find him."
"Of course," he replied. He turned to leave, and then stopped. "Yourmedallion," he said, "I noticed that you're no longer wearing it.Does it displease you?"
Bobbie's hand flew to her neck. "Oh, no! It must have fallen offsomewhere. It's either at the hospital or at Luke's. I'm sorry,Stefan. I'll look for it."
He smiled and held up his hand. "There's no need. I'll buy yousomething more suitable. Besides," he continued, "if Luke finds itfirst, I'm certain you'll never see it again."
"You know?" she said, "I don't think Luke hates you as much as youthink."
He opened the front door, and was assaulted by the cold night air."On the contrary," he said, "I'm quite sure that he does."
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She nuzzled in close to him and put her lips right next to his ear.He smiled, in anticipation of her question.
"Can you get Lucky ready for school tomorrow morning? He has to bethere early for an assembly."
That was not the question he had in mind. "Geez, Laura, you get meall hot and bothered over that? The boy can pour his own Cheerios,you know."
"I know that, Luke," she replied, "but you know how much he hates toget up early, and he might need a little extra encouragement fromyou."
He put his arms around her and nibbled the base of her neck. Two canplay at this game, he thought. "What about some encouragement for me?Who's gonna wake me up? Are you going somewhere tomorrow?"
"Yes," she sighed, enjoying his methods of interrogation immensely."I've got to take Lulu in to General Hospital."
He pulled away, a look of concern on his face. "Is there anythingwrong?"
"Oh no," she replied, "she's just due for another checkup."
"Okay, but you'll call me right away if there's anything wrong, won'tyou?"
"Of course, Luke."
"Good." He smiled, cupping her chin in his hand, and leaned in tolightly brush her lips with his. He pulled away before she coulddeepen the kiss, chuckling at the disappointed look on her face."So," he whispered, "what was it you REALLY wanted to ask me?"